JAGUARS HEAD COACH DOUG MARRONE
(On an injury update) “Dakota Allen, DJ Chark [Jr.], and Tyler Eifert won’t be on the field today. Everyone else will be practicing in somewhat of a role and we’ll see how it goes once everyone else will be out there. So, DJ, we’ll just see how he feels tomorrow and Dakota on Thursday and then Tyler, we’re scheduled for him to practice on Friday. That’s what we’re doing.”
(On having a fifth different kicker this season) “No, I can’t remember anything like this. I don’t think anyone has been though anything like this as far as the people here, whether it’s [Special Teams Coordinator] Joe DeCamillis, [Assistant Special Teams Coordinator] Mike Mallory, or any of the other coaches, so it’s unfortunate. I mean, obviously, you want to be able to do a better job of coming in there when you have an opportunity, but I think there’s a lot that goes into it. Unfortunately a lot of the other players that we’ve had have been injured or have gotten injured, which is crazy in that regard. But John Brown’s coming in here and we worked him out, he looked good, and [I] guess we’ll just have to see when he goes out there on Sunday. But there’s a difference. I think that the one thing about that position that I’ve kind of learned through my experience is you can go out there and look good in practice but I think it’s a whole different ball game when you go out there on a Sunday and then the pressure [be]comes involved. I think it kind of gets overlooked probably a little bit to maybe what [Josh] Lambo has done here and maybe some of the other kickers around the league. I think it’s one of those things, you go in there and we can see it a lot with other positions, but that part of it is a big part of it. That being able to go in there and be able to relax yourself and be able to go in there and kick and put it through the uprights is more difficult than going in your back yard and just trying to kick a field goal. So I think there’s a great appreciation for that and I think we’ll see how John does because he hasn’t done that before.”
(On if having the lowest run percentage in the NFL is a concern)” I think a lot of it’s dictated to the games and being behind sometimes, so I don’t look at it from that standpoint as far as a concern. I look at it as more of what we’re trying to accomplish and being more balanced. Like I said before, I think it’s something that we’re going to continue to work on and continue to try to do a better job of trying to see what the right balance is. Kind of what I said on Monday, whether if you come out throwing and loosen them up and then come back to the run game. When you come back to the run game, get them there and start throwing. I think there’s a lot that goes into it. So, to answer your question, when you say concern, it’s something that we can control to some regard, outside of the score. I look it at more when the games are close and we’re not behind by more than two scores of where it goes because a lot of times in this league, you might be 60-40 pass-oriented going in that fourth quarter and usually the team that has the lead, then you’ll see some more running because now it comes a time during the games where you’re playing not against an opponent necessarily, but against the amount of possessions that you can have in a game. But I think for us, we’ve been talking about it this week.”
(On balancing the work load between RB Josh Robinson and RB Chris Thompson closer to the end zone) “I think what we’ve been trying to do is again, we’ve been trying to… James [Robinson] is a guy that really came on the scene and we all know how good he’s been playing and really trying to bring him along, really not trying to overwhelm him with everything. We have different packages for different players, the same with the tight end, but again, I don’t disregard [that] there should be looking at seeing putting him on the field more. I think that he does a great job. He works extremely hard. He’s very smart. Now it’s just a matter of making sure that we have some type of balance with what we want to do with the players and in situations like that, be able to get him in there a little bit more. I don’t disagree with that.”
(On CB Sidney Jones earning more playing time or a starting spot) “I think he’s had that ability to earn all those things that you just mentioned. I think that it’s unfortunate; coming out of college, we all really liked him, obviously a lot of teams liked him. He went high in the draft and then he had an injury and sometimes when you have those injuries, it just takes a while to get back. Even when he first came here, I don’t know if he was completely [healthy]. I don’t want to say that he was still injured. I just think the confidence that you need when you come back from an injury, especially when you’re a young football player like Sidney is. Then all of a sudden you see him moving better, you see him break, and you see him doing things, and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is great. I’m excited for him,’ and then to see him go on the field. I remember talking to him telling him how excited I was for him to go out there and be able to show what he can do because I’m sure he’s probably disappointed with the injury situation that happened earlier that he wasn’t able to go out there and preform at his highest level. I think you saw what he has the ability to do. When you see someone go out there and perform like that and do a lot of really good things, obviously you’re going to look to him and say, ‘Hey listen, is he going to play more? What are we going to do?’ So we’ll work on that during the week.”
(On if he’s frustrated with the results despite the level of effort on the field) “There’s a guilt feeling I have. There’s a pit in my stomach feeling that I have that I can’t find a way to figure out how to get these guys to put them from back to back to back to back. When you love the team and you have confidence in them and you see the way they work, you see what they do, to try to get them to make plays at key times in games and try to get them to be consistent, you’re constantly trying to find ways to do that. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m frustrated from a standpoint of I’m mad or pissed off or anything like that; that’s not how I feel. I feel hurt that I’m not able to do my job and bring them all together to be consistent.”
(On what they are expecting from the Detroit Lions this weekend) “They’re going to come in here, they’ll be ready to play. I think we understand that but I think, like I said before in answering John’s question, I think really our focus is on ourselves and how we can play at a consistent level going out there. Like I said, these guys play hard. They work during the week and [we’re] just trying to get these back to back plays. I told them these are the things that we’re working on. We’re working on just gradually building up to this week on Sunday and trying to win the day or win the meeting, win the play, win all these things that we’re doing that we can go out there and put a complete game together and come together in all three phases. So that’s really what our focus is, no disrespect. We know Detroit has some really good football players. We know that we have some tough matchups and challenges all along in all three phases, but at the same sense, we acknowledge that they’re going to come in here ready to play, but we’re really focused on ourselves.”
(On if he’s using WR Laviska Shenault Jr. the way he planned as more than just a receiver) “I think it’s fun to have a player like him. I think he can do it in a lot of different things. I still think he’s a young player. He’s a guy that is a highly motivated competitor. I think you see that on game day. I think he’s someone that when he gets the football, you know he’s going to fight for all those extra yards. He’s very difficult to tackle. So I think it’s still challenging for us just to make sure that we put him in all those right situations and get him going. He’s been limited a little bit during the week, so that might have taken a little bit off his plate from some things, but as he becomes healthier and healthier, then I think you’ll see more and more from us [as far as] what we can do with him.”
JAGUARS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JAY GRUDEN
(On how the kicking situation affects the play calling) “I think [Head Coach] Coach Marrone does a great job of communicating with me on third down-and-medium if it’s a go for it, two down situation possibly, but it doesn’t affect my play calling at all. Obviously, any kicker that’s here, we assume that they’ll make their kicks. Unfortunately we missed a couple last week, but [it] shouldn’t have an effect. We’re always trying to get the first down or trying to score anyway, so should not have an effect.”
(On if having the lowest run percentage in the NFL is a concern) “Yeah, for sure. Every week our design is to go in there and run the football, pound the football. Unfortunately I’ve done a poor job of sticking with it, so it’s something we have to, obviously, get better at and be aware of the game, the situation, and all that. Obviously, sometimes late in the third quarter, fourth quarter, if you take out that part of the game in the last two or three weeks, it’s hard to run the ball, but we do have to do a better job early in games to try to maintain the run and keep our linemen pounding the rock a little bit and keeping the pressure off Gardner [Minshew II].”
(On balancing the workload between RB Josh Robinson and RB Chris Thompson closer to the end zone) “Yeah, I don’t know. I think a couple of them might have been two-minute situations where Chris [Thompson] is our third down back and he’s the guy that runs the option routes and the choice routes from the backfield, so that could’ve been the case, maybe either a third down as well. But obviously, we’d like to have James [Robinson] in there. I don’t know if it was 15 out of 16, but we had a couple packages where he might’ve been out of the game, but for the most part, James should be in there unless it’s two minute or third down.”
(On how to regain consistency in the red zone) “Yeah, [it’s] very disappointing. I think you have to stay balanced down there, for sure. We tried to hit a run in there and then got stopped up the middle and then we tried a couple play action passes, [they] didn’t work out the way we thought. Obviously with the first third down where we hit Laviska [Shenault Jr.] on the wide, it was a poor design. It was on me. Obviously, we’ve been very efficient down there [before]. It gets tough down there a lot of times. Some of these defenses, they have the edges secured, the have the safety down there, it’s hard to run the ball there, they’re in jam fronts, you want to try to throw it a little bit, but we do have to do a better job of trying to pound it in there like we did against Miami. Obviously, James [Robinson] scored three times against Tennessee, so that’ll be a focal point. But also, there’s some looks that are very good to throw the ball. We have to win our one-on-one matchups. We have to throw the ball out there in tight windows and make some plays. [It] didn’t happen for us on Sunday, obviously.”
(On if he attributes sacks to QB Gardner Minshew II holding the ball too long or the offensive line) “There’s a combination of things, some of them were protection-based where we blocked the wrong guy occasionally. Some of them, Gardner held the ball probably too long trying to make something happen. You look at the first third down of the game last week, he scrambled out of there. We didn’t get anyone open, he tried to buy some time and got tackled for a 1-yard loss, or what have you, by [Texans LB Zach] Cunningham. So there are some of those instances where he’s trying to make something happen outside the pocket, but, you know, it’s a combination: sometimes receivers may not be getting open, sometimes it’s linemen related, sometimes it’s score related, he’s just trying to make some time, buy some time and it doesn’t work out.”
(On if wide receivers’ statistics affect the game plan) “That’s the benefit of having training camp or OTAs and all that stuff. You really get to know as a coordinator who’s the most consistent in that regard as far as getting open and separating in man coverage, some of our zone coverages. Obviously their coverage is dependent on where the ball should go, but the man matchups, you try to match your best player against their player. Sometimes your best player gets their best player, and they feel good about it. Sometimes they can double your best player [and] other people have to win. So it’s a combination of things. I feel good about all our guys in the matchups; you have to as a play-caller. Obviously there will be times we try to maybe work DJ [Chark Jr.] in a one-on-one or maybe get our back on a linebacker if we like that matchup or maybe get Keelan [Cole Sr.] on a nickel if we like that matchup. So every week it’s going to be dependent on who we’re playing, who we want to work. We have to do a better job of that.”
(On if there is too much pressure on QB Gardner Minshew II to throw the ball too many times in a game) “Yeah. I think we’ve won one game and he threw the ball 20 times, really probably about 27 or 28 times because he had a couple scrambles in there and a couple sacks, so that’s the ideal number for us. Unfortunately, score related, we weren’t good enough on offense in the first two or three quarters to keep the game close where we didn’t have to throw ball. I feel like against Cincinnati, obviously against Miami, and then last week against Houston, you take a whole quarter out of the game as far as being able to run the football because you’re playing behind, you’re playing against the clock as well as the other team. That kind of skews the numbers, but in a perfect world this offense is built on balance and 25 to 30 times is the target number, in my opinion.”
(On if he’s confident QB Gardner Minshew II can throw 40 times a game if necessary) “I think depending on the game situation, sure. I think he can do it without a doubt but I think every time you throw it, you’re taking the ball out of James Robinson’s hands or maybe Laviska [Shenault Jr.]’s if he’s in there or Chris Thompson. I think we have a pretty good running game as well, so there’s a lot of situations and a lot of plays that we have that we like to design for certain guys and obviously James running the football has not been used enough for us to be successful, without a doubt.”
(On the unsuccessful fourth-and-1 one play against the Texans) “That’s a play I’ll lose sleep over for many, many nights and I regret calling, obviously. It was a gadget play. We worked on it, really practiced with James [Robinson] trying to sell it and get James O’Shaughnessy to the corner. We were hoping with the wildcat formation that they would trigger the corner. They brought the safety out of the box, which we knew they would do. Unfortunately we didn’t sell the run good enough and that was poor coaching on my part, so it wasn’t either James’ fault. That was my design fault, but it was something that we saw Baltimore get a couple wildcat snaps, direct snaps to the running back, motion Lamar [Jackson] out. We felt like we had a pretty good look. Ideally, that’s a third-and-1 call where you can go for it on fourth down or maybe four-minute where you’re trying to seal the game, not a fourth-and-1 call. I should’ve left that in the hands of our offensive linemen and James Robinson, in my opinion, and I regret that dearly, just so you guys know.”
| JAGUARS QB GARDNER MINSHEW II (On how many attempts he feels comfortable with per game) “I don’t care. Whatever I need to do. I’ve been on team where I’ve thrown 20 times a game, [I’ve] been on teams where I’ve thrown it 60 times a game. Whatever we need to do, I’m willing to do.” (On if he thinks they abandoned the run too early against the Texans) “I don’t know. I think more than anything it’s just missed opportunities, opportunities in the red zone where [we] should’ve been scoring touchdowns instead of trying to kick field goals. I think anytime you’re bad in the red zone, it’s going to be a tough day for you.” (On getting WR DJ Chark Jr. more involved than he was in the game versus the Texans) “I think we’ll try to get a few more things going for him early, whether it’s just getting him easy touches, try to just get him into the flow of the game. That helps, that helps everything get going.” (On if they are going to change their approach in this weekend’s game against the Lions) “I don’t know. I think if there was a way we thought of doing it better, we would’ve been doing that from the beginning. I really believe in the preparation that we put in. I believe in the work that we put in, the effort we play with. I think it just comes down to execution. There’s some detail things that we have to clean up and we’re going to work towards this week.” (On if not having K Josh Lambo is ever on his mind when in field goal range) “Not in the moment. Any time you’re missing a player like that, obviously you feel it, but more than anything, we’re trying to score touchdowns and we’re not playing for field goals. That was our problem more than anything is we shouldn’t have had to attempt that many field goals.” (On the growth of WR Collin Johnson) “Collin [Johnson]’s done a great job. He’s come in here, he’s known what to do from day one, was really in the playbook. I think he’s a guy that’s just going to get better with reps. The more game action he sees, the more comfortable he’s going to be because I think he’s going to be a really, really good player for us. It’s just a matter of getting him that experience, but we have a lot of faith in Collin.” (On where he feels the team is at going into this weekend’s game) “I mean basically, [with] the practice we just had, I feel good with where the team’s at. A lot of times when stuff’s going like it is, you get a lot of finger pointing, a lot of ‘oh well, I’m doing my job’. We really don’t have that. Everybody’s on the same page, trying to find solutions. It’s really all we can ask for. I couldn’t be more happy with the guys that we have and I’m excited to keep pushing, keep going to war with them.” (On getting multiple new kickers this season already) “It’s crazy. You always try to introduce yourself. You hope everybody that comes in can hang for a while, but you know that isn’t always the case. We’re ready to have [Josh] Lambo back. He’s awesome. There’s a reason he’s an All-Pro guy. But anybody we put out there, we believe in and think we can make kicks with.” (On if he could’ve done anything different on the third-and-goal play to WR Laviska Shenault Jr.) “[It’s] similar to when you’re about to do your job and then you don’t unmute yourself. We all have things, but no. We played within the play. They gave a look that we weren’t expecting. They played it well, made the tackle, and that’s how it went down.” |
JAGUARS WR CHRIS CONLEY
(On if he misses community involvement which has been limited due to the COVID-19 situation) “Yeah, of course. A big part of the experience of playing in the National Football League is the connection to the community. At the end of the day, all the players on every team, for the most part, are transplants in that city and they grow to care about that city and the people of the city. Being able to be in the community and be a part of it is part of the experience, so for a lot of us and a lot of young guys are not getting able to experience that and getting the part of the giving back because the city gives so much to us. But yeah, we definitely miss that and it’s going to be different. Everything about this year has been different.”
(On how he has grown since the game against Miami) “[I’m] really just focusing in on each moment and each play. Sometimes your role on a team changes and your opportunities are different. Sometimes they go down and that means that each opportunity is more important and that’s the role I’m playing in right now and when those opportunities come, you have to make them. Really, this team, we have a fantastic running game, but we also have a pretty good passing game, so when we need to rely on one of those facets of our offense to get us going, we have to make every play that we can. That’s really what that game showed me was just to step up and to make my plays, but then also not letting all of the extra and the things outside of field affect you. [In] that game, there was a lot of negativity. I internalized a little bit of it. You have to be able to have a short memory and let it go. It took me a couple plays too long. It probably took me the first half really when it should only take you one play, not even a series, to let all that stuff go and block it out.”
(On if that was the longest he’s ever held onto a game) “I mean that first half isn’t the longest I’ve held onto it. Obviously, earlier on in your career, you don’t really know how to deal with that kind of stuff, so I can say when I was a rookie, I would hold onto stuff for a really long time. That’s one of the first times in a long time that I’ve held onto stuff. But really, as soon as I got back in the facility and watched the film and realized that the game wasn’t as bad as I thought it was and realized what it was that I needed to work and the stuff I need to rely on my teammates to do, not think that I had to do everything myself, it was a lot easier for me to just put that game to rest and go back to work.”
(On how the locker room has been handling the adversity) “I think one of the things that has been an extreme positive about the locker room is the guys’ willingness to stay locked in. Obviously, we have a very young team, so when you tell guys, ‘Hey guys, we’re this close, this close to being very successful we just need to be more disciplined. We just need to rise to the occasion in this moment. We just need to rely on each other in this aspect’, it’s hard to get someone who hasn’t seen it to believe you. It’s hard to get someone who hasn’t been there to trust you. I was talking with a couple of the other older guys; I’ve been on teams that were 1-5 that won 11 straight games and went into the playoffs. I’ve been there, I’ve seen that. I’ve been on teams where we might have been just as talented as we are here, and we won a lot of games. So, when you tell someone that, it’s tough to get them to really believe that. But one of the things that I’ve noticed about these young guys is they’re tough, man. They’re tough, they’re hanging in there, they’re working extremely hard and so we don’t have to coach effort here. It’s really just raising our level of discipline and our execution, so that’s what we’re doing and they’re handling it just about as well as they can. We just have to make sure that everybody’s in the right place.”
(On if the younger players’ mentality makes him believe they can turn the season around) “I believe that we can. You’re starting to get to the point of the year where some teams can become laxed and they let some things fall by the wayside. One of the things that I’ve really been preaching to guys is, ‘Hey, we have to stay locked in. We can’t afford to make mistakes and we can’t win games with mistakes.’ So, when a team comes in relaxed and having half-prepared, that’s an opportunity that we need to pounce on. We need to dot all of our I’s and cross all of our T’s so that we can go in there and win close games.”
(On the growth of the young receivers and how the veterans have helped them) “I’ve seen a lot of grit. These guys are competitors. They’re really tough. Both Laviska [Shenault Jr.] and Collin [Johnson] are extremely tough. They’re very talented, obviously, as you guys can see, they can go out there and they can make plays. I think the biggest part that we’ve been able to help them with is just letting them in on some of our experiences. One of the things I really worked with DJ [Chark Jr.] and [Keelan] Cole [Sr.], last year was getting more of a feel for how this West Coast style offense works and how routes change and they differ from the routes on the paper, and they’re doing the exact same thing with those guys: helping them find the soft spots in zones, helping them get a little bit of the nuance to the route running versus different man coverages, and just recognizing and picking stuff up faster.”
(On the difficulty to keep the team motivated when the effort isn’t producing wins) “It’s tough because you have to come in and I’ll put it the way one of the coaches told me. After that Miami game, I had a coach pull me aside and say, ‘Hey Chris, this team voted you a captain for a reason. Regardless of how you feel, regardless if you mess up a pay, that ‘C’ doesn’t come off your chest. Regardless of if you’re having a good day or a bad day, that ‘C’ is still on your chest and there’s a responsibility for you to keep these guys motivated, keep them locked in, and keep going even if you’re not having your best day.’ So really, the challenge right now has been listening, being locked in, and committed to knowing the team so that I can help each individual guy just be that much better every day as they can and learning through some mistakes and being man enough to go and apologize when you say something wrong or you don’t get it right, but making sure that guys realize that this is a collective team effort. We’re not pointing fingers at anybody, but we have to stay at it each day and if we do, then the success will come. And finding ways to say that without being longwinded and without repeating yourself, showing that effort, showing the willingness to go the extra mile or look at yourself and look for areas where you can do more and commit to being better yourself and hopefully inspiring other people to do the same.”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars have traded their sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to the Tennessee Titans for fifth-year LB Kamalei Correa and the Titans’ 2021 seventh-round pick, the team announced today. His name is pronounced KAH-muh-lay core-AY-uh.
Correa, 6-3, 241, was originally drafted by Baltimore in the second round (42nd overall) and played two seasons with the Ravens prior to being traded to the Titans in 2018. Correa has appeared in 57 career games (13 starts) and totaled 65 tackles, 8.5 sacks, six tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. In 2019, he played in all 16 games for Tennessee and recorded career highs in tackles (37) and sacks (5.0). He added 16 tackles and 2.0 sacks in the 2019 postseason. This season, Correa has played in two games and notched two tackles.
The Honolulu, Hawaii native attended Boise State and played in 40 games, making 27 consecutive starts to finish his collegiate career. As a junior in 2015, he led the team with 11 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and three forced fumbles. He earned first team all-conference honors in 2014 after setting career bests with 59 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and led the Mountain West with 12.0 sacks. He attended St. Louis (Honolulu, Hawaii) High School and played basketball and football.
The Jaguars now have 11 2021 draft selections: two first-round picks, two second-round picks, one third-round pick, two fourth-round picks, two fifth-round picks and two seventh-round picks.
